Real estate groups ready to battle GOP on tax proposals

The Boston Globe reports:

Home builders and real estate agents are ramping up a battle against Republicans in Congress with a simple message: Stop messing with the American dream.

The object of their ire is the House GOP proposal to cap the total eligible loan amount for the IRS mortgage interest deduction at $500,000, down from the current limit of $1 million.

Only about 6 percent of mortgages nationally are larger than $500,000, so in this case it’s the American dream for well-to-do home buyers. But it’s a lucrative and crucial sector of the real estate market in many places, including Massachusetts. About 8 percent of Bay State mortgages are larger than $500,000, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

If your market defends on articial leverage.....